Dharmendra Pradhan, former Education Minister of India, has spoken publicly for the first time since his resignation, which followed mass protests against him. Pradhan said he "suffered" because of Gen Z, the generation that led the protests, and alleged that "some people misled Gen Z" during the unrest.

Pradhan explained that although he initially found Gen Z's stubbornness challenging, he came to realize that the new generation must be understood rather than resisted. He also revealed that he had approached Prime Minister Narendra Modi and offered to resign from the Union Council of Ministers amid the protests.

The protests were sparked by the cancellation of the NEET exam after a question paper leak, an event reportedly linked to the suicides of at least 21 students. Pradhan's acknowledgment of the protests and his resignation came about 15 days after he stepped down as education minister.

Separately, the Indian government clarified that its real-time payment service, Unified Payments Interface (UPI), will remain free of charge for consumers, with only merchants required to pay a nominal fee. This clarification followed the passage of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, in the Lok Sabha earlier in the week.

Sources